Busy Day Filming

We had such a great day here last week at Ballyknocken House & Cookery School filming with Gabe Saglie senior editor at Travelzoo.The rain held off and the sun came out as we filmed in our herb garden. I made some really tasty dishes including this Chocolate Beetroot & Guinness cake.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C / gas 4. Line the base with parchment and brush the sides with melted butter of a 23cm springform tin.

To prepare the cake, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy.Slowly beat in the eggs, a little at a time.Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl.Carefully fold the flour and beetroot into the egg mixture until smooth and creamy.Slowly add enough Guinness, whisking the mixture to form a cake batter that is lump free. Be careful not to whisk too much.Using a spatula, pour into the prepared tin and place into the preheated oven and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until well risen and firm on top and the skewer comes out clean.

Leave in the tin to cool for 15 minutes.Turn cake out onto cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

To make the ganache, place the cream into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate and honey, whisk until smooth and shiny.Leave to cool – this could take an hour or two.For the filling, combine all the ingredients and set aside.Using a breadknife slice the cake lengthways in two.Place on a cake stand. Spoon 4 tablespoons of ganache into a small saucepan and then spread the rest of the ganache over the cake followed by the whipped cream. Sandwich the other layer on top.Gently heat the ganache in the saucepan so that it can be drizzle over the top.Dust the top of the cake. Drizzle over the ganache.Arrange the raspberries on top.